Be ready for a bit of worldbuilding, a bit of craziness, a bit of character development, a bit of fluffy fluffily fluff! While this is a fast update (I have no patience and am using the hype of comments to bulldozer through as much writing as I can while my muse is generous), don't get used to it! Someday I'll go through all the chapters and make them better, but for now I hope you continue to enjoy the story :)

Lest you fade here all alone

Chapter 9

Rei spotted Karin sitting under the tree the moment he rounded the corner and the Uzumaki's cottage came into view. The girl perked up upon noticing him. He waved his hand and she returned his greeting with a wave of her own, a bright grin blooming on her face.

Rei smiled. Such a great contrast to what he witnessed yesterday. He was lucky that he found the two of them when he did. Who knows for how much longer Kana would have been able to go on like this. And while blowing up the ninja hospital wasn't his intention, he just couldn't help himself. He wanted it gone. That place had to cease to exist.

Rei was powerful enough not to regret this small slip of self-control. Besides, it was already aptly tied into his plans.

"Ready to go, kiddo?" the man asked, giving the little Uzumaki a pat on her head.

"Yeah!" Karin cheered. Without another word, she ran towards the house with an excited, "Mom! Rei-san is here!"

Kana appeared in the doorway. Seeing the blond approaching, her face brightened up with the same happy smile as her daughter's. "Rei-san, good morning," she greeted. After a moment, she rubbed her fingers in a nervous habit. Rei let her work up the courage to voice whatever was on her mind. "How the talk with the Jushi-sama went?" she asked, quietly. There was trepidation in her voice, a hesitance. "We saw the glow of fire in the sky..."

"It went well," the blond stated, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. "I can be very persuasive than needed."

"If you get in trouble because of us—"

"It's alright. I'm alright." Rei's eyes softened. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not leaving you. You're family now."

Kana stared at him, tears gathering in her eyes.

The family was sacred for the Uzumaki. Each of them had monsters inside their souls; savage, dangerous things ready to lash out at whatever threatened what was theirs. The moment Uzumaki recognized someone as a family was the moment that the monster awoke in order to protect their loved ones at all cost.

"Hey!" Karin shouted, glaring at the man. "Don't make my mom cry!"

Rei's hands instantly went up in surrender. "My bad. Sorry."

A laugh tumbled out from Kana's mouth. She stroked her little girl's head to calm her down. "We're almost done, Rei-san. Give us a few more minutes."

"Take as long as you need."

Rei waited patiently outside while the Uzumaki duo went around the cottage, checking if they didn't forget anything. Soon, they were standing in front of him, eager to begin traveling. It was almost disturbing how little possessions two Uzumakis brought with them.

Karin bubbled with curiosity. "Where are we going?"

"Wave country."

Kana's eyes widened. "It's so far…" She suddenly looked worried. "Won't you be troubled to stay with us for such a long time?"

Rei broke into a cheeky grin. "It won't take that long." He put one hand on Karin's head and another on Kana's shoulder. "Ready?" At the two slow nods, his chakra stirred, swirled, and then, they were where he wanted them to be.

A murmur of the crowd, laughter of children, cries of seagulls, and a distant sough of the ocean filled their ears, sun warmed their skin, and a salty wind brushed their hair away.

A couple of feet away, a stout man with a bushy beard toppled backward over the box he had been sitting on, a surprised yelp leaving his mouth. His back hit the ground, throwing a cloud of dust into the air, while his pipe made an arc and landed right in the middle of his forehead with a distinct thwack.

Mother and daughter stared at the new place with eyes wide open. They were in some small village, surrounded by lush trees at one side and a strip of glittering blue at another.

"Damn you, Uzumaki!" the fallen man roared, flailing his arms and legs as he tried to stand up. Once he managed it, he almost went down again as he tripped over the box. Finally finding his footing, he waved his fist at Rei's direction. "Why do you always show up in front of my blacksmith like some vengeful ghost?!"

Rei flashed him a wide, innocent smile. "I'm sorry, Old Sho, but how can I start my day without seeing your grumpy face?" he said smoothly.

"You—!" The blacksmith glowered, face red and blotchy from anger.

Rei's smile didn't waver.

Old Sho's furious expression started to falter the longer he stared at that disarming grin. "Cheeky brat…" A long-suffering sigh followed his quiet mutter. He leaned down and picked his pipe, arranged the box, and eased himself back on it. "You here for the order?"

"Ah, no," the blond replied, but his cerulean eyes lit up with excitement. "Is it done?"

"Just the first one, but you—or one of you—or part of you?" He grew more frustrated as he spoke and finally just threw his arms up. "Whatever you!"

Rei's amused chuckle received another glare.

"Anyway," Old Sho continued, biting on his pipe. "You said you wanted this one done as fast as possible. I worked overnight for you, kid." He pointed at the blond with his pipe, face stern. "You owe me. Those patterns were no joke to engrave."

"Sure, Old Sho," Rei agreed readily. "How about I bring you some high-quality tobacco from overseas?"

"Hmpf! You better!" the blacksmith harrumph, but couldn't quite hide fondness that curled around his eyes. He turned towards his workshop behind him and hollered, "Nobuo, you lazy brat! Bring the Uzumaki's order!"

"I'll be the one taking it!"

Everyone looked at another Rei sauntering over, a wrapped-up package in his hands.

"Boss will be happy that the whole set was done at the same time!" The newcomer turned to two speechless redheads gaping at him and grinned. "You must be my fellow clan members from Kusa. Nice to meet you!"

"...Brothers?" Kana guessed, but she sounded really unsure.

Old Sho snorted. "They're one and the same," he grumbled around his pipe. "Still weirds me out no matter how many times I see it."

"It's a simple jutsu," Rei that brought them here explained, sounding exasperated and helpless.

"Oh. I see." Kana didn't, but was polite and smart enough not to pry into the ninja's secrets.

And if two Reis were not enough, the third one soon joined the first two. "Hey, how's it going?" he chirped. Noticing Kana and Karin, he blinked, clearly surprised, but the next moment his mouth stretched into the blinding grin. "Nice to meet you, Uzumaki-san, Uzumaki-chan!"

"Stop scaring them, idiot."

"You realize that calling him an idiot you're basically calling yourself an idiot?"

"We're obviously from different batches."

"Hey! That's discrimination!"

"Does that really make a difference?"

"Of course, you idiot."

"Oi!"

Old Sho rolled his eyes at the three-sided bickering. "See what I mean?" he said to the red-haired woman.

Kana had to fight really hard not to laugh at the ridiculous scene. Karin didn't have such restraints and melted into delighted giggles.

"Here you are, Rei-san!" another man called, jogging closer. He didn't even bat an eye at the three of them like it was an everyday occurrence. "The men are ready to go," he reported before glancing at each of the blonds. "Uh… which one—?"

"That'll be me, Kaiza." One Rei stepped forward, waved his goodbye, and left together with the man.

A teenage boy ran out of the blacksmith, briefly paused at the sight of two identical blonds. After a moment, he shrugged in a ninjas-are-weird way and said, "You order, Uzumaki-san." He extended a small oblong box to them.

"Great!" Rei who already held a package in his arms took the box and saluted the other people around him. "See ya!" A blink and he was nowhere to be seen.

Old Sho puffed a cloud of smoke and shook his head.

The last Rei looked at the mother and daughter duo. "I hope you're okay with staying at the inn in this village for a while. People here are really friendly, it's a great community."

"No problem at all."

"I hired these people to help with rebuilding Uzushio and we work together daily. Besides, one of me is always on standby somewhere around for protection. In case you'd need something, just find me or simply flare your chakra and I'll be there in an instant."

Kana smiled kindly at him. "Thank you."

"Can we check the coast?" Karin asked, peering up at her mother curiously. "I've never seen so much water before."

"Of course, sweetie, just let us put our things away."

"Well, then." Rei motioned at the direction of the inn. "Shall we?"

Naruto was bored.

He was so bored that he even cleaned his room. Rei always cleaned his apartment when he visited, so he thought he would do the same. It wasn't like he wanted to be praised or something.

Naruto stared at the smudge on the ceiling as he lay sprawled on top of his bed. He had no wish to go out after the playground incident and he was leaving Konoha soon, so there was no point going to the Academy. Teachers didn't like him much anyway.

What to do, what to do…

The boy suddenly shot up from his position and clambered out of bed in a rush. He slammed open his wardrobe and started to rummage through several boxes piled up on its bottom. He finally found what he was looking for and pulled a sheet of paper out with a delighted, "Aha!" After that, he also picked a bundle of old, half-used colored pencils and brought everything to the kitchen to sit at the table.

Naruto put the sheet down and attentively smoothed out wrinkled parts as much as he could. There were words 'My precious people' printed out at the very top, but otherwise, it was just a blank white piece of paper.

During one lesson in pre-Academy, the sensei distributed these sheets for every student as homework. They had to draw people that were precious to them, people that they wanted to protect once they would become ninjas.

Naruto had no precious people, not a single one. He had no one to draw. Maybe Jiji, but the little blond quickly dismissed that thought. Not wanting to be laughed at by submitting an empty sheet, he lied that he spilled ramen on it and got it destroyed. He was still laughed at by his classmates, but at least not for the reason that left his heart in shambles.

Naruto grabbed the orange pencil—the most used one of the whole set—and began drawing. He stuck his tongue out as he carefully lined the shape and colored it, grabbing another pencil for legs, then another to draw the face and finally yellow one to draw the hair.

It took him a while, but he finally finished his drawing by scrawling a name under the figure. He leaned back and admired his work. This was perfect!

"Watcha doing, kit?"

Naruto almost fell from his chair. A hair ruffle followed right after the sudden question and his heart sped up. He scrambled to grab the paper and hide it—

His fingers closed in on empty air as the sheet was already picked up by someone else.

Naruto felt a moment of nervousness when his gaze locked on his uncle. As he watched him staring at his drawing, expression blank, it morphed into dread.

What if Rei didn't like that he had thought of him as his most precious person?

It was an irrational fear, but he couldn't quite help it. Unbidden tears shone in his eyes.

A small smile curled on Rei's lips and he glanced down at the small blond, words of gratitude on the tip of his tongue, but it never hit the air. "W-Why are you crying?" he actually stammered out of surprise, worry and concern rising inside him like a high tide, followed by a storm of protective fury. "Hey, hey," he crouched down and cupped the kid's face with one hand, "what's wrong?"

"Y-You didn't, didn't like it, 'ttebayo," Naruto choked out. "'M sorry…"

"Didn't like—" The realization landed like a slap on his face. Rei brushed the tears with his thumb. "No, Naruto, that's not it. It's not that I didn't like your drawing. It's been years since someone told me that I'm their precious person, you just caught me by surprise." He leaned closer and placed a kiss on the little Jinchuuriki's forehead. "Thank you." He rested his forehead against Naruto's, looked into those sparkling pools of blue, and smiled gently. "You're my most precious person, too."

The boy took a deep breath, trying to stifle his sobbing. "…R-Really?"

"Of course."

Naruto started to cry even harder.

Rei felt a bit lost, a bit guilty, and a bit disappointed in himself. While he wouldn't call himself an expert in child psychology, he made an effort to grasp it once he decided to raise the little one. He read all the books he could find on the subject and still failed to recognize the insecurity this little guy continued to carry around. The weight of unworthiness instilled by years of neglect and hate pressing down on the kid's belief that someone genuinely wanted to take care of him.

Rei pulled the kid into a hug and allowed him to let it all out.

Speaking about those books, he suddenly remembered where they would be extremely useful.

A new shadow clone appeared and instantly vanished.

A drawing on the table attracted Rei's attention again. Warmth flooded his chest and it spilled out as a grin straight from his heart.

Right at this moment, Rei completely separated his identity from the little blond. Naruto wasn't his counterpart anymore. The boy was his own person with emotions and experiences that were unique and belonged only to him.

But in the end, they both had to learn how to be a family. It meant to love and be loved back. In his whole life, Rei never got the last part right. Naruto was not getting it either. They were ready to give everything, but never expected to get something in return. Maybe, they never thought they were worthy to get something in return.

Fortunately, now they could learn it together.

There was a knock.

Rei paused in the middle of sorting out the groceries, tilting his head to the side and wondering who it could be. The chakra signature was vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite put a finger on the identity.

The blond cleaned his hands into the towel and padded out of the kitchen. He poked his head into the bedroom to check on Naruto. It had been a few hours since the boy cried himself to sleep.

There was a knock again.

Satisfied with the sight of the kid's chest rising and falling steadily, his chakra calm and undisturbed by nightmares, Rei crossed the small hallway and opened the door.

A young man in chuunin's attire startled upon coming face to face with him. He looked around, scratching the scar across the bridge of his nose, clearly flustered.

Rei smirked. Iruka, huh. Not someone he expected. Iruka at this time still viewed Naruto as a monster who killed his parents. Or something equally horrible.

Pushing his misgivings to the side, he leaned against the doorframe and inquired, "Yes?"

"Um…" Iruka glanced at the paper in his hands. "This is supposed to be Naruto Uzumaki's apartment?"

Rei raised an eyebrow. "It is."

The young chuunin stared at him long and hard. He squinted as if it would help him to see through the unfamiliar man. "It can't be…" he muttered with a tinge of uncertainty. "Naruto?"

Rei's eyes widened, but in the next moment he burst out laughing, his whole body shaking with the force of it.

Iruka—his Iruka—always was the only one who could find him when no one else did and see through him when no one else could. Rei couldn't believe that even this Iruka who was yet to acknowledge Naruto was able to just tell his real identity the moment he laid his eyes on him.

Rei finally managed to get his explosive laughter under control. He breathed deeply, cheeks hurting from how wide he was grinning. This was so unbelievable. As he brushed some stray tears, he looked back at the chuunin and asked, "Do I look like a seven years old kid?"

A blush crept on Iruka's face. His mouth opened to speak—

"Rei?" A voice from inside the apartment called, heavy with sleep. After a moment, Naruto came to stand next to his uncle, still rubbing his eyes. He blinked at the man standing right in front of his apartment. "Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka's expression transformed. Any signs of friendliness and previous embarrassment vanished, replaced by a dark, taut face. Not quite hateful or full of contempt, but it made Rei's hackles rise protectively nonetheless.

Iruka or not, this was not acceptable.

"Naruto," the chuunin started slowly, glowering sternly at the small blond. "Why are you not at the Academy? You've already missed lessons yesterday and the day before. I see that you intend to miss it today too. Care to explain?"

Naruto scowled. He instinctively reached for his uncle and fisted a hand into the material of his orange haori. And then, he glared up at his teacher.

Iruka was taken aback. It wasn't the first time this boy glared at him, but something seemed different this time.

"You don't care about me. You don't want me," Naruto spoke in a tone that spoke of hurt and injustice. So, so much hurt. "Why should I go there? I'm leaving Konoha soon anyway, what's the point?"

The chuunin stiffened. "Leaving Konoha?"

"You all can be happy once I'm gone."

Such an unchildlike thing to say. It stung, those words. Webs of guilt and regret trickled into Iruka's mind, like a stream against a large boulder that signified his stubbornness to see the facts straight.

Rei's hand landed on the boy's head, getting his attention. Ignoring a small flinch at the contact, he smiled affectionately when his blue eyes met a pair of matching blue. "How about you go and sort out the groceries I left in the kitchen?"

"Are you making dinner today?"

"Yep."

Naruto's face lit up like a bonfire. He fist-pumped and with a cheerful, "Yay!" he raced into the apartment, almost crashing into the wall in his haste.

Rei looked back at shocked Iruka, his fond expression slipping away. "Is that all?"

The chuunin flinched at that icy tone and a clear sign that he overstayed his welcome. But he had never seen this man before and wondered if the Hokage knew about someone staying with the Kyuubi's container. "Who are you?"

The blond's gaze pinned Iruka in place for one long, tense moment. The latter's heart skipped a beat when the man finally shifted.

Rei wordlessly pulled a folded in half paper sheet from one of his many storage seals on his person and extended it for the chuunin.

Despite being unnerved by that frigid stare, Iruka took the paper from his hand and unfolded it. Whatever he expected, a crude drawing, obviously done by a child, of an orange-clad person with yellow hair was not it. The moment he saw words printed at the top, he realized what sort of paper this was.

The drawing undeniably depicted the person standing in the doorway. Naruto's precious person. The only one he apparently had.

"…Ghost*?" Iruka read the word scrawled untidily at the bottom.

"Rei, actually. Rei Uzumaki and also Naruto's uncle from his father's side." Rei's lips twisted into a pleased smirk as the chuunin blanched. He snatched the drawing from the latter's hands and let the storage seal suck it back in. "I'm curious though." He paused, locking his eyes with the other man's. "You look at the innocent child, your own student no less, with that kind of cruel eyes… Do you really think you're fit to be a teacher?"

Iruka felt the air freeze in his lungs. He looked at the blond Uzumaki in silent horror. His throat felt dry and heart heavy, the question ringing in his ears like an endless echo. The stream turned into a waterfall, pounding relentlessly at the boulder.

"Goodbye, Umino."

The door closed to his face.

Hiruzen stood in front of the window in his office, hands behind his back and face scrunched into a deep frown. Not long ago some sort of commotion happened in one part of Konoha. A single, brief burst of unfamiliar chakra alerted all the nearby ninjas. No warning signals were sent, however, indicating that no real danger threatened the village.

Now, the Sandaime waited for his ANBU operative return to report his findings.

The Hokage robe fluttered in the breeze when the shadow flew through the open window. A masked nin kneeled before his leader.

"Dog. Report."

"An incident occurred inside the Hyuuga clan compound. It got completely buried under books and scrolls."

Sarutobi turned around to look at his subordinate, his aged features awash with disbelief. "Books?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Dog confirmed. "Hiashi Hyuuga was caught in the center of it. He said that it happened extremely fast and he had no time to react. Their Byakugan could not see who was behind the incident."

The Sandaime's mouth twitched. Their ghost visitor sure had been busy today. "What kind of books?" he asked curiously.

There was a distinct lilt of mirth in Dog's tone as he replied, "Childcare and family bonding."

While Hiruzen managed not to laugh outright, he couldn't suppress an amused smile anymore. "It seems Rei Uzumaki is trying to tell Hiashi something," he muttered. "Any serious injuries?"

"Besides Hyuuga's bruised pride, none."

This time the Sandaime did let out a short, quiet chuckle. He looked through the window again and stayed silent, not dismissing Dog just yet.

"Have you seen the recent Bingo Book from Iwa, Kakashi?"

The ninja stood up and pushed the mask away from his face, shedding his ANBU persona together with it. It was obvious that the Hokage wanted to talk with Kakashi and not Dog. "Iwa updated their Bingo Book?" he asked.

"Yes," Hiruzen answered, furrowing his brow. "Rei Uzumaki got his own page in it. They call him the Golden Ghost."

Kakashi's mask creased with a smirk. "Not surprising."

"No, it is not," the Hokage agreed. "His page is empty, describing only his name and appearance. Jiraiya went to investigate if he really did something or if it was more due to his uncanny similarity to Minato. If it's the latter, Konoha might get involved." A sigh left him and he rubbed his forehead, trying to smooth out the frown that just wouldn't go away. "Konoha might get involved either way…" He turned to fix the jounin with a complicated gaze. "Be careful while dealing with that man. It seems more and more unlikely that he wishes Konoha active harm, but it's better to be overcautious than regret later."

"I understand, Hokage-sama."

"Alright. You can go."

Kakashi shunshined away, leaving the Sandaime to his quiet musings while observing the bustling village behind the window.

The dinner eaten, the dishes washed, and the kitchen cleaned, it was time, Rei decided. He sighed as he stared at Naruto happily sipping hot cocoa.

"Kit."

Naruto looked up, growing a bit uneasy. His uncle's name of endearment sounded unusually serious this time.

Rei sat down on a chair next to the boy and frowned at his own clasped hands, thinking how to breach the topic. "I have something to tell you."

"What about?" The little blond's voice was small, apprehensive.

"About your parents and the reason why the villagers treat you so unfairly."

* – Rei, 霊, "spirit, ghost" (just a friendly reminder)

A/N

So, what do you think little Naruto's reaction will be?